Armed Groups in Gaza

Main Palestinian Armed Forces in Gaza

HAMAS ("Islamic Resistance Movement")

• Formed by members of the Muslim Brotherhood in 1987 at the beginning of the first Palestinian Intifada (uprising)
• Its charter calls for replacing Israel with an Islamist Palestinian state
• Won Palestinian legislative elections in 2006, ending the secular Fatah movement's dominance of parliament.
• Controls 10,000-20,000 fighters, around half belonging to its military wing and others providing internal security

Palestinian Islamic Jihad

• Established in 1980 by Muslim Brotherhood members
• Dedicated to replacing Israel with an Islamist Palestinian state.
• Controls about 1,000 fighters, making it the second strongest militant faction in Gaza.
• Fired rockets at Israel sporadically in recent years.

Salafist Groups

• Loose network emerged in Gaza since Hamas's 2007 takeover
• Range from dozens to hundreds of members linked mostly by clan and neighborhood
• Share al-Qaida's belief in global jihad and establishing a pan-Islamic caliphate
• Engaged in sporadic rocket fire on Israel, sometimes in defiance of Hamas orders to stop

Secular Nationalist Groups Linked to Fatah

• Militants allied to the secular Fatah movement
• Includes small factions such as the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades